World Bank recruits 01 Liaison Officer/Senior Operations Officer

World Bank

Goma, République Démocratique du Congo

Liaison Officer/Senior Operations Officer
Job #: req15268Organization: World BankSector: OperationsGrade: GGTerm Duration: 3 years 0 monthsRecruitment Type: Local RecruitmentLocation: Goma,Congo Democratic RepublicRequired Language(s): French/EnglishPreferred Language(s): Closing Date: 3/4/2022 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC Description
Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. Visit www.worldbank.org.
Established in 1944, the WBG is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for development solutions. In fiscal year 2018, the WBG committed $67 billion in loans, grants, equity investments and guarantees to its members and private businesses, of which $24 billion was concessional finance to its poorest members. It is governed by 188-member countries and delivers services out of 120 offices with nearly 15,000 staff located globally.
The WBG consists of five specialized institutions: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The World Bank is organized into six client-facing Regional Vice-Presidencies, several corporate functions and thirteen Global Practices to bring best-in-class knowledge and solutions to regional and country clients.
The WBG program in AECC2
The WBG has active programs in each of the four AECC2 countries; the Angola, Sao Tome and Principe, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with a total engagement of $9 billion including $1 billion on regional programs. These programs are largely aimed at mitigating drivers of fragility and contributing to stabilizing volatile situations, especially in Burundi and DRC. They include large financing programs amounting $5bn in DRC at end December 2021 as well as a solid portfolio of analytical work.
Most recently, the WBG has committed to scale up its engagement in Eastern DRC, in an environment of insecurity and low capacity, and with a view to contributing to international and domestic stabilization efforts. This includes an important share of a pipeline of operations of about $4.6 billion (FY22-24), which will have to be implemented in a highly challenging environment. Against this backdrop, AECC2 has opened a liaison office in Goma (Eastern DRC), to support and facilitate implementation. The office is currently located in the premises of the UN peace-keeping force in DRC and is composed of a Senior Operations Officer, a Social Safeguards Specialist, a Security Specialist, and Assistant, and a Driver.
Duties and Accountabilities:
The Senior Operations and Liaison Officer will have a reporting line, to the Operation Manager and the AECC2 Country Director. (S)he is expected to play a critical role in spearheading the WBG’s engagement in the most difficult environments in Eastern DRC and to work with a significant degree of autonomy.  The Senior Operations and Liaison Officer is expected to work closely with relevant CMUs and GPs colleagues, as well as with external partners, including UN peace keeping mission, humanitarian actors, bilateral, and CSOs. He is also expected to support the DRC operations team in charge on portfolio management and monitoring.
Specific responsibilities include the following:
• Lead the day-to day dialogue with local counterparts and stakeholders. This will require establishing and nurturing effective relationships with a broad range of actors in a complex and low-capacity environment; developing and advancing a set of engagements focused on the developmental needs of Eastern DRC and on linkages between the development, humanitarian, and security agenda; and addressing issues as they may arise. • Help strengthen effective and strategic partnerships with relevant international, regional and domestic stakeholders in Eastern DRC, including peacekeeping forces, humanitarian actors, multilateral and bilateral agencies, civil society and the private sector. This includes contributing to build a close partnership with the MONUSCO through regular exchanges, information sharing, support to the setup of operational partnerships at project level; establishing and nurturing effective and result-based relationships with other relevant counterparts; and representing the WBG in a variety of settings.  • Monitor the political and security developments in Eastern DRC and inform the CMU, GP colleagues, FCV Group, and other relevant teams about the latest FCV-specific developments. This includes the preparation of regular updates on the conflict situation in the country and a contribution to country briefs as relevant.  • Support task teams operating in Eastern DRC as may be needed for effective project preparation and implementation support. This will require working across sectors as may be needed to facilitate task teams’ work, to support them to ensure the conflict sensitivity of projects, to build local knowledge and advise TTLs on specific issues (in particular pertaining to project implementation in insecure areas), to help develop innovative approaches that are adequate in a low capacity and insecure environment, to follow up on decisions and monitor progress, to identify emerging issues and help solve problems. • Be part of the DRC operation team in charge on portfolio management both on implementation and lending  • Oversee the liaison office in Goma, including administrative aspects and day-to-day oversight of other colleagues in the office.
Selection Criteria
In addition to the WBG-wide core competencies listed below, the successful candidate will have the following qualifications, experience, skills and personal attributes: • Advanced degree in a relevant discipline (Masters or PhD), and at least 8 years of relevant operational experience. • Strong commitment to the WBG’s mission, strong client orientation and drive for results, and the ability to work with a great degree of autonomy. Willingness and ability to work in an insecure environment and under considerable pressure. • Operational experience in the WBG, including with project preparation and implementation support, preferably in FCV environments; knowledge of Bank policies and procedures. • Pragmatism, problem-solving, organizational and practical skills. • Very strong interpersonal skills, ability to build relationships with diverse counterparts, and to build effective working relations with clients and colleagues. Excellent communications skills in both English and French.  • Solid understanding of FCV-related issues demonstrated capacity to understand the specific challenges faced in low capacity and / or insecure environments.  • Strong communications skills, in both English and French. • Integrity, tact and discretion.
Other Competencies:
Bank Instruments, Policies, and Procedures, and Ability to Proactively Apply Them: Solid operational experience, including as a World Bank task team leader, in at least two regions and for complex operations. Familiarity with financial sector and private sector development challenges in middle income, low income and fragile country settings highly desirable. Solid knowledge of operational policies and procedures and ability to apply them in the different context, advise teams to resolve the bottlenecks, and find pragmatic operational solutions. An ability to exercise quality assurance of documents at different stages of project cycle.
Portfolio Management and Results Monitoring and Evaluation: An ability to independently monitor portfolio and pipeline and provide signals to management when the program goes off track. Preparing and leading country/GP portfolio reviews. An ability to monitor IBRD financing as well as IDA utilization. An ability to design and implement results frameworks. Providing key inputs in business planning/MoU exercises.
Integrative and Communication Skills:
• Integrating divergent viewpoints of multiple external and internal stakeholders into a coherent project/program/strategy.  • Excellent written and oral communications skills in English; proficiency in one or more additional languages highly desirable.  • Ability to work effectively in a small team environment critical.
Analytical and Technical Skills, Operational Strategy Development & Advice: Recognized by peers and/or managers for ability to identify and pro-actively solve operational issues and problems.
Fragile, Conflict and Violence Situations Skills:
• Knowledge of FCV context, applied to operations and analytical tasks, joint with a substantive understanding of fragility, conflict, and violence, including polarization of state-society relations, diminished client capacity, and relevance of partnerships.  • FCV behavioral skills and ability to demonstrate the mind-set needed for success in FCV settings (adaptability, resilience, determination, and sound judgment), willingness to coach others on the team around these factors.  • FCV operational skills in coordinating a pragmatic approach to FCS operations, looking for ways to help the client to achieve early results while maintaining a strategic approach, and identifying practical ways to implement longer-term/reform measures.
This internal requisition is open to WBG and IMF staff only (including short-term and extended term consultants/ temporaries). External candidates are requested not to apply. In case an external candidate applies, their application will not be considered.
World Bank Group Core Competencies
The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.
We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.
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